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    NUWC Division Newport welcomes three female submariners for panel discussion

    NUWC Division Newport welcomes three female submariners for panel discussion

    Photo By David Stoehr | Laura Towle (from left), Lt. Briana Platukis and Lt. Alexis Greenleaf Travis talked...... read more read more

    NEWPORT, RI, UNITED STATES

    04.09.2019

    Story by Public Affairs Office 

    Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport

    NEWPORT, R.I. — When Lt. Alexis Travis was commissioned as a U.S. Navy Supply Corps officer in December 2013, not everyone around her thought she would be capable of serving aboard a submarine.

    Female officers had only begun serving aboard U.S. submarines in 2011, and one leader told her that her application was a waste of time; another senior officer told her that she would not be smart enough to do it.

    “I told them — very politely because they were senior officers — to just watch my career and see how it pans out,” Travis told a capacity crowd at Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport on March 25. “When people tell me that something is not possible, I like to prove them wrong.”

    That anecdote by Travis, who went on to serve on the USS Georgia (SSGN 729), was among the stories shared by a panel of female submariners at an event hosted by the NUWC Newport’s Federal Women’s Program (FWP) and Equal Opportunity, Diversity and Inclusion Office in recognition of Women’s History Month in March.

    Travis, who is currently serving as an instructor at the Navy Supply Corps School in Newport, was joined on the panel by Lt. Laura Towle, Women in Submarines Program coordinator and diversity officer at Commander Submarine Force Atlantic (COMSUBLANT) in Norfolk, Virginia, and Lt. Briana Platukis, who is currently attending the Naval War College in Newport to complete a master’s degree in Defense and Strategic Strategies and Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) Phase I.

    Towle also served on the USS Georgia, and Platukis served on the USS Ohio (SSGN 726).

    “One of the things I’m always interested in is firsts,” NUWC Newport Technical Director Ronald Vien said while introducing the panel. “It’s hard to believe in 2019 we’re still having firsts, but today we’re having a first with some of the first women to be a part of the submarine force. It’s very interesting to see how things change over time.”

    Vien then ceded the podium to Sally Camara, NUWC Newport’s FWP manager, and head, Development, Assessment and Sustainment Division of the Ranges, Engineering, and Analysis Department, who in turn introduced Towle.

    A graduate of the Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate Program at the Naval Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, Towle discussed some of the history of women working on submarines.

    These included some important milestones, such as the opening of the submarine force to enlisted women in 2015, 19 percent of submarine crews achieving integration in 2016 and 150 women earning submarine qualification pin — dolphins — in the same year.

    “We integrated to open the submarine force to all of the applicants possible,” Towle, who served on the USS Georgia with Travis, said. “We value diversity of thought, and we want to solve problems in the best way possible.”

    All three submariners discussed this topic further during the panel portion of the event moderated by Lori Ailes, head, Undersea Warfare Mission Analysis Branch of the Undersea Warfare Mission Engineering and Analysis Department. Travis also noted that after her initial negative experience, most of the problems on the submarine related to awkward bathroom logistics.

    “I had a very supportive command as soon as I was qualified and put in for it,” Travis said. “As soon as they heard that was my plan, they were very supportive.”

    The group touched on a number of similar topics, from proper etiquette when entering a female stateroom to growing accustomed to working in an enclosed environment.

    “It’s good that it’s the head (bathroom) that we’re complaining about and not actual problems,” Towle added.

    A question from the audience did draw attention to a technical issue Platukis and Towle experienced because of the way submarines are designed.

    “I was too short for the optical telescope,” Platukis said. “Someone asked me to clear the baffles, so I turned to the junior officer and said, ‘you can do it.’”

    For Travis, who is 5-foot-9, this was less of an issue and led to some playful ribbing from the panelists.

    “I don’t have too many logistical problems,” Travis said. “I don’t think there was an instance where I needed ‘a big, strong man to turn this valve.’”

    “Well, I’m an officer so I don’t typically turn valves,” Towle said, drawing a laugh from the crowd and her fellow panelists.

    The group also offered up some sea stories to a group of NUWC Newport employees earlier in the day at a luncheon where many of the same topics were addressed. Among the stories was one from Travis about an isolated incident involving a young male Sailor showing off for another female Sailor.

    “That incident happened because people are stupid, not because the program is broken,” Travis said. “Every once in a while a crazy person gets a security clearance, and they do crazy things.

    “We need to get to a point where you’re viewed as either a capable Sailor or an incapable Sailor. If I can remember the instruction, I should stand the watch regardless of my gender.”

    About the speakers

    Lt. Laura Towle is a graduate of Florida State University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. After her commission in January 2014 and completion of the submarine training pipeline in August 2015, Towle was stationed on the USS Georgia in Kings Bay, Georgia. While there, she served as the chemistry and radiological assistant, and the assistant operations officer. Her personal awards include the Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal and various other unit and service awards.

    Lt. Briana Platukis graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2005 with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and anthropology. She then enlisted in the Navy, attended boot camp at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, in November 2006 and graduated in January 2007. Her first sea tour was on the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), where she kept maintenance records for the support equipment division from March-October 2008. She was later selected for Officer Candidate School and was ultimately commissioned in February 2009. Platukis also had stops on the USS Boone, Fleet Logistics Center at NAS Jacksonville, Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) Twin Cities in Bloomington, Minnesota, and Supply Officer Department Head Course in Newport before serving on the USS Ohio (SSGN 726) from June 2016 to July 2018.

    Lt. Alexis Travis graduated from the University of Georgia in 2012 with a bachelor’s in psychology. After her commissioning as a Supply Corps officer, she spent her first tour after being certified “ready for sea” with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion THREE. While there she served as the assistant supply officer, a combat operations watch officer and the Detail Guam officer-in-charge for their 2015-16 Pacific Command (PACOM) Deployment. She earned her Seabee Combat Warfare Device and Naval Expeditionary Supply Corps Officer Qualification before detaching for duty aboard the USS Georgia in 2016.

    NUWC Division Newport, part of the Naval Sea System Command, is one of two divisions of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. NUWC Division Newport’s mission is to provide research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, undersea offensive and defensive weapons systems, and countermeasures. NUWC’s other division is located in Keyport, Washington.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 04.09.2019
    Date Posted: 04.09.2019 15:36
    Story ID: 317461
    Location: NEWPORT, RI, US

    Web Views: 966
    Downloads: 1

    PUBLIC DOMAIN